


Who Spiked the Eggnog?

by Emily_F6



Series: Peter Parker Prompts [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Gen, Irondad, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6
Summary: The Stark Tower Extravaganza is the biggest event of the year, and this year, Spider-Man is helping out.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Peter Parker Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866505
Comments: 3
Kudos: 122





	Who Spiked the Eggnog?

**Prompt: Christmas Prompt "Who spiked the eggnog!"**

Peter couldn't quite believe that he was here…all his life, it felt like, he had been watching the Stark Tower Christmas Extravaganza (that's what he called it in his head) on TV. He and his uncle would always sit in front of the TV on the first Saturday in December and watch as Tony Stark hit the button to light up his Tower. More and more extravagant light displays all set to music were televised every year, with Iron Man being incorporated after Mr. Stark returned from Afghanistan a superhero. Every year they would drink hot chocolate and watch the light display and then watch Mr. Stark hand a check over to a charity and hand out gifts for kids. Later, he was joined by some of the other Avengers and Miss Potts and Colonel Rhodes and still, Peter and Ben would watch it all on TV. As the evening progressed, Peter would slump further and further into the sofa, his head dropping onto Ben's shoulder, eventually falling asleep to the sound of the soft Christmas music playing in the background on the TV.

And now, Peter thought, I'm a part of it. He wondered briefly what Ben would think as he handed a frozen turkey to a woman who thanked him profusely in a thick accent. He answered in Spanish, assuring her it was no problem, and wishing her a Merry Christmas. The heater in his suit was on low, keeping him from feeling the steadily dropping temperatures. It was nearly 8pm, and the sun was long gone. Lazy snowflakes drifted from the sky, and Peter pulled another frozen turkey from the box. There had started with almost two hundred boxes filled with these turkeys, and his was the second to last addition to be placed in the box that the families all slid down the table. On his left, Colonel Rhodes placed canned goods into the boxes, and on his right, Miss Potts finished off the boxes with packages of ready to bake dinner rolls.

Beyond Colonel Rhodes, he could see Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes both placing their own part of a Christmas dinner into a box, and on the other side of the huge courtyard lit up by Christmas decorations and floodlights, Steve Rogers and Mr. Stark handed out superhero themed toys, from action figures to stuffed animals, to children bundled in the new coats and hats and mittens they'd been given at the beginning of the evening when the tower's light show had begun. The first floor of the tower was open, and free dinner was being served to the families who had come from the homeless shelter, which was the recipient of Mr. Stark's Christmas check, with Thor and Doctor Banner serving the food.

All in all, it was a pretty incredible event. Peter couldn't believe he was a part of it…couldn't believe he'd been invited. Little kids kept pointing at him and jumping up and down in excitement, almost like they thought he was a real superhero. It was silly, he knew. He was nowhere near the level of the others…most of the time, he was swinging around Queens and saving cats from trees or giving directions to lost tourists, but still, a few people asked for pictures with him, and he obligingly leaned over the table, giving a cheery thumbs up or peace sign as the families took selfies with him.

They didn't finish up until almost eleven, and a group of people descended to clean up while the Avengers all headed inside. Apparently the event that Peter had seen on TV was only the beginning. Afterward, Mr. Stark had told him, the Avengers would all head inside and have their own party, complete with eggnog and a turkey dinner, lots of cake and cookies and Christmas-themed donuts, and presents. Peter had protested, telling Mr. Stark that he hadn't gotten anyone anything and had no idea what to get the Avengers, but Mr. Stark had just chuckled over the phone.

"Don't worry about that, Underoos. Just bring yourself, your suit, and some normal clothes to change into."

And so he had, his other clothes stored in a bag in a guest room of the tower that was filled with enough spiders to make Peter think that Mr. Stark had had him in mind when he'd decorated it. The bedspread had his logo in the middle, as did both pillows, and on the dresser were an assortment of plastic spiders that were so lifelike that they made Peter shudder. He didn't have the heart to tell Mr. Stark that they freaked him out, though, so he always slid them off the desk and into the top drawer when he stayed over, then replaced them before he left. When he'd arrived that afternoon to change into his suit, they were all wearing tiny Santa hats, so he'd decided to leave them out.

As the others headed for the tower, Peter moved to the center of the courtyard, staring up at the lights that continued to move and swirl in patterns, different sections lighting as different parts of 'Carol of the Bells' played on a speaker. Standing alone in the cold, he stared up at the tower, craning his neck so he could see the reindeer at the very top, the sleigh floating in midair behind. It wasn't long before tears filled his eyes and he crossed his arms over his chest, glad for the mask.

"You would have loved this." He whispered, closing his eyes and picturing his uncle in as much detail as he could…the way he'd smelled and the way his strong hands would rub Peter's back. How the buttons of his dress uniform would press into Peter's cheek and how he would grin when Peter would walk into the kitchen on Saturday mornings, flipping pancakes that he would add extra chocolate chips to when May wasn't looking. How he would kiss the side of Peter's head or teasingly pinch his nose….how he would wrap an arm around Peter's shoulders as they watched the Christmas light show at the tower on TV.

Another arm wrapped around his shoulders and Peter jumped as he was torn from his thoughts. "What do you think, Spidey? Does it live up to the hype?" Mr. Stark asked, a grin in his voice. Peter opened his eyes and stared up at the tower.

"Yeah," Peter told him, wincing when the tears were obvious in his voice. The man beside him paused a little, his hand squeezing a question on his shoulder. "Ben and I…we watched it on TV every year."

"Really?" He asked, voice more gentle now, but still pleasant. All around them, people were cleaning up, picking up bits of trash and moving empty boxes to recycling. "What did he think?"

"He thought you were a good man to do all this."

Mr. Stark went quiet beside him, his hand squeezing Peter's shoulder once more, and when he finally spoke, his voice was almost hopeful. Almost afraid. "Really?"

"Yeah."

The man took a moment, then sniffed a little, pulling his glasses off of his nose and putting them in his shirt pocket. "He raised a really good kid. The best kid." He told Peter softly, and Peter rested his head on the man's shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment, just trying to take it in…to keep the tears at bay. Mr. Stark gave him that time, then gave him a quick squeeze. "You want to head inside? Get something to eat?"

Peter nodded, and Mr. Stark, arm still around Peter's shoulders, led him toward the building as the music played in the background. As they entered the elevator, Peter leaned against the wall, finally pulling off his mask and wiping at his face a little, hoping his eyes weren't red. The man beside him ruffled his hair, shooting him a quick, encouraging smile before the doors opened and they were deposited on the main floor where the Christmas tree was set up in the corner, a mountain of presents underneath it. The dining room table was se, covered in so much food that Peter wondered if it might collapse underneath it, and the Avengers all milled about, coats discarded in the corner. Mr. Stark headed for the table, grabbing a cup and spooning something into it.

"Go get changed, kiddo, and then we'll have some dinner."

Peter nodded, waving quickly to Miss Potts who smiled at him as she joined Mr. Stark by the drinks table. He was hurrying toward his room when he heard Mr. Stark choke a little. "Alright, who spiked the eggnog?"

Waves of laughter hit Peter as he paused outside of the guest room with a spider on the door, closing his eyes once more to take it all in, a smile on his face, forehead pressed to the door. "I leave you people alone for ten minutes…"

In his mind, he could picture his uncle leaning against the door next to him, chuckling as he listened to the Avengers bicker in the other room.

"I love you," Peter whispered, believing in some small part of him that his uncle could hear him…that his uncle knew.

"I love you too, Pete." The words were in his own mind, of course, but in another way, they were his uncle's…his uncle who would be so happy for him right now. So, taking a deep breath and feeling that love for a moment, he opened his eyes, slipping into the spider-themed room to change so that he could join the Avengers for dinner.


End file.
